What is Prescription Fish Oil?

Lovaza Prescription Fish Oil © GlaxoSmithKline

Prescription fish oil is an omega 3 fish oil supplement that's approved by the FDA. You need a prescription from a doctor to use this type of fish oil supplement.

There is currently only one brand available on the marketplace called Lovaza (formely called Omacor).

Lovaza (Omacor) is a pharmaceutical-grade fish oil marketed by the drug company GlaxoSmithKline. It's the only omega 3 supplement made from fish oils approved by the FDA for lowering high triglyceride levels.

Lovaza provides omega 3 fatty acids in the ethyl ester form. You may be asking...what exactly are ethyl esters?

Estyl esters are actually fatty acids that have been put through a vacuum and then distilled and chemically altered. This process apparently gives you very high purity levels.

And it turns out this purification process meets criteria set out by the FDA, which qualifies this product to be called a true 'pharmaceutical-grade' fish oil.

Lovaza (Omacor) comes in a 1000 mg. soft gel. Each soft gel provides 465 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and 375 mg docosanexaenoic acid (DHA). The soft gels come with LOVAZA imprinted on the soft gel.

So What's the Difference between Prescription Fish Oil and Regular Fish Oil?

The term prescription fish oil is a fish oil supplement (or an omega 3 supplement made from fish oils) that meets FDA-approved criteria for processing and testing.

Only FDA-approved products can be prescribed by a physician and you need to be monitored by a physician when taking such prescribed medications. Therefore, if you wish to take Lovaza, you'll need to get a prescription from your doctor.

Pharmaceutical-grade Fish Oil

The term 'pharmaceutical' fish oil or 'pharmaceutical-grade' fish oil has been used in marketing material by a number of fish oil manufacturers.

These terms are generally used to describe fish oil that meets an accepted standard for purity and omega 3 concentrations.

Some of these products may follow criteria for minimal levels of omega 3 fatty acids and contaminants set forth by international organizations such as the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the World Health Organization (WHO) or the European Pharmacoepeia.

Some of these criteria include:

• contains minimum 60% EPA and DHA concentration

• PCB levels less than 50% of the CRN standard

• Dioxin and Furan levels less than 50% of the World Health Organizaiton (WHO) standards

Read this page for more detailed information on testing criteria for pharmaceutical-grade fish oils.

Labelling a fish oil as 'pharmaceutical-grade' does not qualify it to be the best fish oil supplement. Any fish oil supplement manufacturer can put this term in their marketing material to let the customer believe their fish oil is highly purified.

If you want the best fish oil supplements you need to get a Certificate of Analysis or other documentation that confirms these products have been laboratory tested or undergone analysis.

Should You Use Prescription Fish Oil?

The biggest advantage to using a prescription fish oil is knowing the purification process has been approved by the FDA and that you're getting exactly what's listed on the ingredient label.

The two primary disadvantages are the high costs and the requirement of a doctor’s prescription.

How Much can Prescription Fish Oil Cost?

A price check on PharmacyChecker.com shows Lovaza can range from 0.99 to $2.40 per 1000 milligram soft gel.

If you take the recommended dosage of four (4) soft gels daily this can add up to $3.96 – 9.60 per day or $110.70 - $288.00 per month.

Unless you have a prescription drug plan that will pay for your medications, you can see it can get pretty expensive to use a prescription fish oil on a regular monthly basis.

Try this Alternative to Pricey FDA-approved Fish Oils:

There is plenty of research supporting the use of omega 3 fish oil supplements.

What many unsuspecting consumers may not realize is that there are many high quality fish oil supplements that equal and even surpass the purity and omega 3 concentration levels found in pharmaceutical product like Lovaza.

Products such as Minami Fish Oils, Nordic Naturals and Carlson Fish Oils can give you a high quality omega 3 fish oil supplement. Many of these products offer Certificates of Analysis to prove their products have been tested by third-party laboratories for contaminants such as mercury, PCB's and dioxins.

You can also choose from dozens of high quality fish oil products tested by the IFOS Fish Oil Standards.

If you’re looking for all of the benefits of a prescription-based fish oil, but without the high costs, then you owe it to yourself to learn more other natural omega 3 fish oil supplements.

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